Account Manager / Senior Account Manager, Beauty Communications

Karla Otto is a globally recognized public relations and communications agency, founded in 1982, with offices in 15 key cities across the UK, EMEA, US, and Asia. With a strong presence in fashion capitals such as Milan, London, Paris, and New York, the agency has built a reputation for representing some of the most prestigious names in fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. In 2017, Karla Otto merged with K2 to form THE INDEPENDENTS—a global marketing, design, and communications group. This collective brings together industry leaders who share a commitment to innovation, excellence, and thoughtful collaboration across the luxury and lifestyle sectors.

At Karla Otto, our team of expert strategists, designers, planners and publicists are dedicated to delivering exceptional results and establishing long-term partnerships with our clients. We are passionate about the world of fashion, beauty, and luxury, with everyone bringing their unique expertise and insights to the table. We are driven by a shared commitment to excellence and a deep understanding of the ever-evolving industry landscape.

Karla Otto London is looking for a Beauty Account Manager or Senior Account Manager (dependent on experience) who is a self-starter, but also a team player with ability to lead, motivate and manage others as well as owning their own workflow end to end. The candidate will have at least four years of experience in beauty and wellness PR and Comms, ideally within the luxury beauty space and possess both a creative and detail-oriented approach to work. An individual in this role will possess substantive industry knowledge, strong relationships with beauty media (consumer, trade and digital), the ability to liaise confidently with clients and lead accounts where necessary. The candidate must have a thorough understanding of the beauty and wellness landscape as well as wider fashion and cultural trends. A true team player and committed mentor, this individual will be collaborative and eager to share ideas and information with all Karla Otto offices and teams.

Working alongside the Director, Beauty Communications:

• Manage always-on 360 PR activity for KO beauty and wellness client portfolio in the UK
• Manage day to day activity for UK Beauty Account Coordinator and Beauty Account Assistant across beauty and wellness
• Work closely with clients, leading on accounts where necessary, to develop compelling PR strategies that drive brand awareness and media coverage
• Compile/contribute to bi-annual client strategies where required
• Support directors with new business responsibilities, as and when required
• Proactively outreach to key beauty/market/news editors in key regional long/short lead, TV and online media outlets to secure media coverage, features, and news items, building on and leveraging existing strong press relationships
• Oversee and compile KO’s bi-monthly beauty newsletter, liaising with global KO teams
• Support directors, as and when required, for wider beauty division support
• Ideate, plan and produce UK client activations and events, managing end to end back of house and front of house activity
• For larger activations, partner with Karla Otto events team and outside vendors to ensure seamless execution of brand vision and deliverables
• Develop, write and edit PR materials and secure client sign-off as appropriate
• Ensure sample ordering and replenishment is properly managed
• Finalise agendas and media updates for client calls
• Attend and manage UK beauty portfolio showcase at KO’s bi-annual press days in April and November
• Review and sign off monthly coverage reports across beauty and wellness portfolio
• Ensure positive and timely communication with clients and international Karla Otto offices
• Able to lead, encourage, mentor, and develop junior staff members
• Step in/cover for Director, Beauty Communications when otherwise engaged or OOO

Key Attributes:

• Minimum 4 years of experience preferably working across multiple luxury beauty and wellness brands
• Able to work under pressure and committed to meeting deadlines
• Generates creative, thoughtful and useful ideas and solutions to everyday problems and challenges
• Sets goals, monitors and reviews plans and prioritises tasks effectively
• Strong work ethic
• Thorough knowledge of editorial calendars, processes and coverage opportunities
• Impressive contact list of press and KOL relationships
• Accomplishes tasks accurately and thoroughly with strong communication skills
• Takes end to end ownership for specific projects without supervision
• Confidence to train and direct the work of Beauty Account Assistant and Account Coordinator
• Outstanding communication skills
• Elevated eye for aesthetic and visual design
• Working knowledge of talent, influencer and thought leader landscape across beauty, wellness, wider cultural trends including pros e.g. makeup artists etc. to support talent strategies as and when required
• Strong computer skills including Outlook, Excel, and Powerpoint, Google Docs, Launchmetrics, Keynote
• Must be eligible to work in the UK

At Karla Otto, we are always looking for personalities with positive charisma who are enthusiastic, self-motivated, and have a keen sense of aesthetics. Karla Otto embraces and celebrates diversity, inclusivity, and equal opportunity. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. Karla Otto provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join our team!